Dr. Nathan Webb, assistant professor of communications and Tim Stewart, director of service-learning, recently presented a poster at the Gulf-South Summit on Service-Learning and Civic Engagement through Higher Education in Greensboro, North Carolina. Their poster, entitled “Partnering Up for Literacy: A Case Study on How Partnerships Can Help Create a More Literate Community,” examined how Webb’s Teamwork in Organizations class formed multiple partnerships to help create a more literate and inclusive community. They focused on how partnerships, both in the Nashville community and within the university, were formed and maintained to engage in recruiting volunteers, fundraising, marketing, communication and other important areas.
Public Relations Student Team Hosts Campaign for National Competition
This year, the Public Relations Student Society of America’s (PRSSA) Bateman competition, a national public relations competition for undergraduate students, selected the Campaign to Change Direction as its client. Change Direction is a wellness campaign dedicated to erasing the
stigma that is associated with mental illness, creating a common language to discuss mental health and assuring all in need receive the care and support they deserve.
The Belmont Bateman Team is composed of four undergraduate public relations students dedicated to the mission of mental health awareness. Juniors Savannah Bobo-Bressler, Jenna Corradeno, Megan Heiner and Kayla Orel made up the 2016-2017 team and worked to aid the Campaign to Change Direction by bringing the cause to Belmont in the form of their own campaign, #ItStartsWithYou. Research conducted by the team found one of the key aspects of mental health is peer support. #ItStartsWithYou focused on the importance of a supportive community that begins with the individual.
The campaign consist ed of multiple strategies and several events that both connected to Change
Direction’s five signs of emotional suffering and promoted the pledge to know these signs. Through these, the Belmont Bateman team aimed to spread awareness, create acceptance and inspire action among the student population at Belmont. Despite only having a few short weeks to enact a complete public relations campaign, the team met found great success.
Throughout the campaign, the team partnered with Music City Love on a Leash, a local non-profit pet therapy organization, for an interactive convocation. The dogs drew 250 students, and a press release written and distributed by the Bateman team landed the event coverage on the 6 p.m. Channel 5 News program.
Change Direction’s pledge to know the five signs of emotional suffering and change the culture surrounding mental health was one of the organization’s top priorities, so the team strategically developed a list of opinion leaders on campus to contact. Dr. Bob Fisher, president of Belmont University, signed the pledge representing the 8,775 students and faculty at Belmont. Campus leaders Emily Snyder, president of Alpha Gamma Delta, and Austin Coleman, president of Phi Kappa Tau, also took the pledge on behalf of their organizations.
“We identified who would be the best voices for representing our campaign and started building those relationships,” said Bobo-Bressler. “Knowing our audience and knowing how important mental health is on a college campus, both to other students like Emily and Austin and to Belmont’s leadership, helped us intentionally choose our partners.”
The team also created a comprehensive mental health training program that could be easily adopted into Belmont’s staff training programs like Resident Assistants, Tower Traditions leaders and Spiritual Life Assistants. The program contains information on the importance of mental health, the five signs, how to be an empathetic listener and mental health resources in the Nashville area. The directors of these programs are considering implementing the mental health training techniques shared by the Belmont Bateman team. “One of ours and the client’s goals was educating community members on what to look for and how to be supportive of people who are emotionally suffering,” said Orel. “We looked at Belmont and found the sources for spreading this education to where it would be the most effective in
actually creating change.”
Although the competition implementation period is over, the team hopes to leave a legacy. All campaign materials and contacts will be passed to Kelly Hagan, a member of the local Change Direction chapter, to continue the workthe team has begun.
Carr Appointed As Nashville Creatives Day Committee Advisor
Dr. Cheryl Slay Carr, associate dean for Curb College of Entertainment and Music Business, was recently appointed as an advisor to the Nashville Creatives Day Committee. Creatives Day is an initiative of the Mayor’s Office of Small Business and Creative Economy. The Committee, chaired by Brian Sexton, works to identify solutions to challenges facing Nashville’s creative community.
Country Music Publishing Professionals Advise Students to Be Persistent
On March 20, Belmont hosted a Curb College seminar featuring longtime country music producer and Streamsound Records Founder Byron Gallimore, A&R and publishing professional Missi Gallimore, singer/songwriter Jaida Dreyer and songwriter-producer Tommy Cecil. The four spoke to students and challenged them to do their best to make a name for themselves in the music industry.
The panel discussion, moderated by senior music business major Maddy Sundquist, centered on a theme of persistence and a yearning to stay on top of industry news and changes. Byron shared with students that while being a producer ultimately involves a fair amount of luck, it also relies on hard work and preparation. To be successful, students should do their research before coming to industry seminars and events to get the most out of them.
Dreyer stressed the importance of not only making connections and establishing relationships, but making sure you take care of those who are good to you. The importance of staying on top of industry knowledge comes when chance occasions happen and aspiring professionals bump into someone they recognize from their research. Cecil added that every opportunity in Nashville starts with a relationship, and maintaining past connections plays an important role in that.
Morgan Green Receives Critical Language Scholarship
Mary Morgan Green, junior international business major with minors in Chinese and dance, received a Critical Language Scholarship from the U.S. Department of State under its program to help students master critical foreign languages. Green will be studying in Xi’an, Shaanxi province, China where she will attend Shaanxi Normal University and live in international dorms. She will participate in a group-based language and cultural immersion program and have two meetings a week with a language partner.
“This past spring break I returned with Show Hope (a local non-profit) to Luoyang, China to serve at a special care facility,” said Green. “ While I was there, I was thrilled to receive the news that I would be able to return to China this summer to study the Chinese language. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to expand my knowledge of Chinese this summer for eight full weeks at Shaanxi Normal University. To God be the Glory.”
DNP Students Attend Student Policy Summit in Washington, D.C.
Belmont University Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students Carleigh Smith and Jordan Porter recently attended the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) Student Policy Summit in Washington, D.C. During the three-day conference, Smith and Porter were immersed in didactic program sessions focused on the federal policy process and nursing’s role in professional advocacy. Additionally, they were able to visit the office of Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander and representatives from the Senate Health Education Labor and Pensions (HELP) committee. The experience gave Smith and Porter the opportunity to learn more about the influences that policy advocacy has on the country’s health care system.
“As a graduate student in Belmont’s BSN-DNP program, I fiercely believe it is my ethical duty to advocate for the advancement of health in Tennessee and nationwide,” Porter said. “As reforms take place in our healthcare system, nurses at all levels of education must be seated at the table and understand the health policy process to ensure the delivery of safe, high-quality care for all Americans. This opportunity is a testament to Belmont’s commitment to investing in its graduate nursing students as leaders and advocates in our present and future healthcare system.”
“The wonderful opportunity to participate in the AACN Student Policy Summit enabled me to look outside the clinical focus of FNP training and experience the broader, policy-focused influences that shape healthcare in our community,” Smith added. “As a future DNP, I hope to continue to work towards advocating for my community on a policy level. This summit gave me the building blocks to get started.”
Theology Professor Leads Conference in Amazon Jungle
Belmont University Professor of Theology and Religion and the Arts Dr. Steve Guthrie was chosen to help lead a recent conference for indigenous pastors in an unusual location—on the banks of the Amazon River. The 6th annual Jungle Pastors’ Conference, a mission trip hosted by Justice and Mercy International, was held in an effort to lead indigenous Amazon pastors who have little access to training or teaching in sessions on worship and theology. Guthrie was selected to join a team of 21 teachers who made the trip, and the team served 59 jungle pastors and their wives.
The conference consisted of large group worship services, breakout sessions on topics ranging from church finance to marriage to children’s ministry, shared meals and times of fun and fellowship. In addition to leading breakout sessions, Guthrie was part of an international group of musicians who played music for the week. He also explored the possibility of Belmont students participating in future trips with Justice & Mercy International.
“It was wonderful to be able to share some of the same material that I teach at Belmont with these pastors,” Guthrie said. “Over the course of the week, I was also able to meet with a number of the local pastors individually and find out about their experiences ministering in the incredibly remote places where they live. Some of the pastors I met had traveled more than a week by boat to reach the conference. I came away from the conference with a much richer and fuller picture of the life of the church worldwide, and what the life of a minister might look like in a very different setting from my own.”
Justice & Mercy International’s blog post about the conference states, “We were so honored to have some of the most respected Bible teachers and pastors with us, imparting wisdom to these faithful men and women that are serving in the darkest parts of the jungle. It was truly a Spirit-filled week and God was at work in the hearts of his people there.”
Alumnus’s Short Film Nominated by ICFF for ‘Best Animated Film 2017’
Cody Taylor, a 2008 Belmont alumnus, is working to use his talents in art and drawing to bring God’s words to life. Hoping to help children and older audiences visualize what it means to live God’s mission, Taylor has been creating a short film series to bring popular Bible stories to small screens through the use of animation. The first short film in his “Red Letter Words” series is based on the Parable of the Good Samaritan and was recently nominated for the award for “Best Animated Film” at the 2017 International Christian Film Festival, set to be held May 4-6 in Orlando, Florida.
Taylor works as a self-taught animator and video game developer as well as a computer science instructor at Christ Presbyterian Academy High School. His hand-drawn animated film runs for 2 minutes and 33 seconds and is a piece that he worked on for almost two years at his home studio, Heartfelt Animation LLC, in Nashville. Taylor drew the characters and animated them using Adobe Photoshop. His wife, Candice Fisher Taylor, who served as a youth pastor and church choir director for three years, performed both the music and narration for the story. Taylor hopes to continue his series by creating similar films for other popular parables, such as the Mustard Seed, the Leaven, the Sower, the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son.
Taylor’s nominated film about the Good Samaritan can be watched here.
